Method and apparatus for eviscerating clams

ABSTRACT

Evisceration of clams is accomplished by positioning a clam on a conveyor belt with the clam root at the trailing end; bringing the clam under a skate bar positioned over the belt and longitudinally in relation to the belt travel, the skate bar pinning the clam against the belt while the clam slides along the bottom of the skate bar with the clam muscles on opposite sides of the skate; pushing the clam muscles to the sides further away from the skate bar by moving the clam under a V-shaped plow mounted in conjunction with the skate bar over the belt, the plow having each leg of the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;V&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; on opposite sides of the skate bar and its apex away from the direction the belt travel, the plow displacing the muscles to the sides and away from the skate bar as the remaining clam body slides under the plow and the skate bar; and eviscerating the clam by passing it between the belt and a pressure pad whereby force is applied to the pad and against the clam body between the muscles progressively from the leading end to the trailing or root end of the clam to squeeze out the viscera.

United States Patent [1 1 Snow [ METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVISCERATING CLAMS [76] Inventor: Harold F. Snow, RD. 4 Pine Pt.,

Scarborough, Maine 04074 221 Filed: Apr. 17,1972

21 Appl. No.: 244,616

Primary Examiner-Antonio F. Guida Assistant Examiner-D. L. Weinhold Attorney, Agent,

George A. Kap; Donavon L. Favre [57] ABSTRACT Evisceration of clams is accomplished by positioning a or Firm-George P. Maskas;

[ 1 Feb. 5, 1974 clam on a conveyor belt with the clam root at the trailing end; bringing the clam under a skate bar positioned over the belt and longitudinally in relation to the belt travel, the skate bar pinning the clam against the belt while the clam slides along the bottom of the skate bar with the clam muscles on opposite sides of the skate; pushing the clam muscles to the sides further away from the skate bar by moving the clam under a V-shaped plow mounted in conjunction with the skate bar over the belt, the plow having each leg of the V on opposite sides of the skate bar and its apex away from the direction the belt travel, the plow displacing the muscles to the sides and away from the skate bar as the remaining clam body slides under the plow and the skate bar; and eviscerating the clam by passing it between the belt and a pressure pad whereby force is applied to the pad and against the clam body between the muscles progressively from the leading end to the trailing or root end of the clam to squeeze out the viscera.

13 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures Patented Feb. 5, 1974 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,457

'7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fag 3 Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,457

7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 5, 1974 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 5, 1974 7 Sheets-Sheet r.

W T'T T 11 Patented Feb. 5, 1914 3,789,457

7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,457

'7 Sheets-Sheet METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVISCERATING CLAMS This invention relates to method and apparatus for removing viscera from clams. The viscera of a clam includes liver, digestive system and the intestinal tract. Whenever used herein, the term liver will designate the viscera since it comprises a major portion thereof.

Evisceration of clams hasbeen done manually for many years. The clam meats are removed from the shells and generally washed in water to remove sand and shell fragments embedded in the clam. The drained meats are taken in hand and the liver is removed by squeezing the abdominal sack between the fingers or tearing-off the entire sack portion. When the former method is employed, there is a probability that some of the viscera will not be removed because the squeezing action by hand is not uniform or is not sufficient to sever the viscera from the clam. With the latter method, when the entire abdominal sack is torn off, although this generally affords a more complete removal of the liver, nevertheless, there is generally a loss of a substantial amount of the available meat of the clam.

There are a number of additional disadvantages to the manual evisceration of the clams. As with other manual operations, productivity is low which directly affects the cost of the clams. The evisceration operation is not so simple that it can be learned in a short time. Training of workers is time-consuming. Even with skilled workers, there is a likelihood of injury and cutting of the hands from shell fragments which still may be embedded in the clams.

A number of attempts have been made to automate evisceration of clams but they have not been entirely successful.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an improved method for eviscerating clams which comprises positioning the clam on a moving support with its root upstream, moving the two clam muscles to opposite sides of the clam body and applying pressure to the clam body between the muscles progressively toward the clam root to sever and squeeze out the liver. In this fashion, the muscles are not subjected to the considerable pressure required to squeeze out the liver. Such pressure would disintegrate and generally degrade the muscles.

The invention also relates to an apparatus for eviscerating clams which comprises a conveyor belt on which the clam is placed with its root pointed away from the direction of movement. The upper surface of the belt is preferably a flexible rough texture so that the clam does not slide thereon. This texture can be achieved by a plurality of fine protrusions on the belt surface. The belt is entrained over a pair of spaced pulleys one of which is driven by a suitable motor means. As the belt moves over a rigid supporting platform, an elongated skate bar is encountered which is disposed in spaced relationship above the belt along its longitudinal axis. Between ends of the skate bar, a V-shaped plow is affixed above the belt with its apex upstream and having its legs on opposite sides of the skate bar diverging in the direction of belt travel. The plow preferably consists of a plurality of resiliently mounted rod segments under which the clam slides. As the clam is advanced, it encounters the skate bar which pins the clam against the belt. Further advance of the clam while sliding under the skate brings it to the apex of the plow which presses over the top surface of the clam. Since the muscles are in the form of protrusions, they are distended outwardly from the clam body due to the separating action of the plow, as the clam is continuously advanced by the belt. Maximum width of the plow should be such that the clam muscles are generally not severed from the clam body but remain attached thereto throughout the eviscerating operation although in actual practice, with the particular apparatus in mind, most of the muscles do become completely severed. This is no matter of real concern, one way or the other, as long as the central portion of the clam is exposed and properly positioned on the conveyor belt by the action of the plow.

A flexible pad or surface is disposed at the rear end of the skate bar and preferably in contact with the. belt in the area of the end pulley. The pad element can be made from a smooth surfaced material such as polyurethane. The terminal portion of the pad can have resilient segments which are biased by spring-mounted shoes to impart pressure to the abdominal sack of the clam so as to expel the liver while the muscles pass outwardly of the pad and are not subjected to the pressure. This region is the eviscerating section of the apparatus. There is a converging gap between the belt and the pad to assure that the clams will be drawn into the eviscerating section of the apparatus. The apparatus also includes a rotor beneath the conveyor with a plurality of pins extending outwardly which clear the belt by about 4; inch. The purpose of this rotor is to sling-off the eviscerated clam hopper the occasional pieces of clam meat which might not leave the belt as it passes around the discharge pulley. The clearance of the rotor pins is established to prevent the pins from engaging much of the viscera which is spread out in a thin layer on the belt. In addition to the rotor, there is a resilient scraper which removes most of the visceral material from the belt.

For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive material which illustrate and describe a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a clam which can be treated in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the overall apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the belt showing a substrate and a flexible, roughened upper surface;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the apparatus which illustrates the relationship of the skate bar to the plow and mounting of the plow shoes by means of yieldable rods;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of skate bar and the triangular plate which provides for mounting of the links which assure the proper positioning of the springmounted plow shoes which comprise the plow;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the relationship between the plow, the skate bar and conveyor belt;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of the skate bar and the plow shoes with suspended rods attached thereto, the plow shoes being adjusted so that they just barely graze the textured protrusions of the conveyor belt.

FIG. 9 depicts relationship in the horizontal plane of the triangular plate, which provides for mounting of guide links, and the horizontal bars for connecting the vertical rods attached to the plow shoes and the triangular plate;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation illustrating relationship between a spring-mounted rod attached to a plow shoe and the triangular plate which is functionally interrelated with the plow rod by means of upper and lower connecting guide links;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of one of the upper guide links;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of one of the lower guide links;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view partly in section of the end portion of the apparatus especially illustrating the pressure pad, the spring-mounted pressure elements which exert pressure on the flexible pad to squeeze out the liver and the association of the pad to the belt and the skate bar;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the flexible pad disposed partially over the skate bar and the belt at a point where the belt goes over the end pulley; this figure also shows the terminal portion of the flexible pad provided with several longitudinal slits which define flexible pad elements and two rows of pressure elements wherein one rod of the pressure elements are positioned centrally over the pad elements to impart sufficient force thereto in order to squeeze out the liver from the clam;

FIG. 15 depicts movement of a clam disposed on the belt in sequential steps wherein (A) the clam is positioned centrally on the belt with its root facing away from the V-shaped plow; (B) the clam is pinned to the belt by the skate bar; (C) the clam is engaged by the plow; (D) the clam muscles are distended by the plow to the sides of the belt as the clam slides under the skate and (E) the liver of the clam is squeezed out by the pressure applied to the central portion of the clam body by the pressure plate or pad; and

FIG. 16 is an illustration of another embodiment wherein another endless belt is entrained about drums and a portion thereof is brought in contiguous relationship with the first endless belt in the region of the rear pulley to form an eviscerating section wherein removal of liver from a clam is accomplished in conjunction with a yieldable roller or rollers applying pressure to the endless belt and against the rear pulley.

Referring to the drawings, wherein identical numerals refer to identical parts, the method and the apparatus of the invention described herein are applied to the efficient evisceration ofa clam, generally designated by numeral 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2. Shucked clam l0 ready for cleaning is of a generally oval shape, as indicated in FIG. 1, and is ofa size, in the case ofa sea clam, which ranges from about three inches to five inches in length and about 2% to 4 inches in width with a thickness of about from three-fourth of an inch to 1% inches. Clam 10 is composed of a number of distinct parts which are rather weakly joined together by connecting tissues. The largest part 12 is commonly referred to as the tongue and comprises roughly one-half of the uneviscerated clam. The clam includes two abductor muscles l4, 14 at respective opposite ends on each end of an abdominal sac area 16. The sac area 16 contains liver 18 and, during the spawning season, roe 20, as shown in FIG. 2. Roe is the eggs or ovaries of mollusks, such as clams. Other parts of the clam include two rims or straps 24, 24, a root 26, and a syphon 28. The abdominal sac 16 is substantially open at the root 26 which was attached to the clam shell. The wall of the sac cavity 16 increases in thickness progressively toward the tongue.

The liver 18 is a dark colored mass which is very soft and easily crushed yet contains a web-like structure of connective tissues which tend to preserve the original shape of the mass during the removal except under substantial stresses. The other parts of the clam, except for the muscles, are relatively firm and can tolerate far greater stresses without shearing of the tissue. The textural difference between liver 18 and the remaining portion of the clam makes possible the use of mechanical force to press the liver from its sac in accordance with the invention.

The clam generally designated as 32 in FIG. 3 is positioned on belt 30 of the apparatus so that its root is facing away from the direction of travel of the belt. The apparatus is mounted on a frame defined by vertical, parallel stanchions 34 joined by horizontal braces 38. A pair of parallel shafts 40, 42 are mounted on the frame in a convenient fashion and the endless belt 30 is entrained about pulleys 44, 46 mounted respectively on shafts 40, 42.

Substrate 48 of belt 30 shown in FIG. 4, can be any conventional material of the rough top variety such as is commonly used for conveyance of materials up steep inclines. This material should be sufficiently resistant to water and clam juices. Suitable materials are known by tradenames such as Ruff Top, Cling Top and Grip Top. Upper surface 50 of the belt is bonded to the substrate and is of a rubberized material having a roughened surface 52 in order to provide sufficient friction for the clam to be held down against the belt without sliding while the clam slides under various parts of the apparatus of this invention. Suitable materials for the upper portion of the belt are a rubber stock having a very low durometer. A convenient width of the endless belt is l4 inch. In order to assist the operator in proper alignment of the clam in relation to the skate bar, a longitudinal line can be painted on the belt, the longitudinal line passing under the skate.

An elongated rigid support plate 54 is supported at the forward portion of the apparatus on horizontal braces 38 by angle irons 56 at the level of the belt and provides support to the belt for almost the entire distance between the pulleys. At the opposite end, support plate 54 is maintained in position by an auxiliary frame 57 formed by angle irons 58, 60 and vertical members 62, 64 which are interconnected by horizontal brace plate 66.

Skate bar is centrally positioned above the belt and provides a gap therebetween of about one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch. The skate bar illustrated in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 may be on the order of 3 feet in length, three-eights of an inch in width and about 3 inches in height. As evident from FIG. 6, the forward edge 72 of the skate bar is canted in the direction of belt travel or rounded so that the clam slides easily and smoothly thereunder. The upper edge 74 of the skate bar at its rear portion is beveled for a specific purpose, to be described later, and its contact edge 76 is planar and continuous. The other features of the skate bar are shoulder 78 and grove 80 provided for accommodating cross braces 82, 84 which fix the skate bar above the belt. As is apparent from FIG. 3, the beveled edge 74 of the skate bar extends almost to the outer edge of the belt.

After the clam is pinned or strongly pressed to the belt by the skate bar, further movement of the belt brings the clam in contact with plow 86 which rides over the clam and in contact therewith while moving the clam muscles to the sides. The bottom of plow 86 is suspended above the belt so that it barely grazes the textured protrusions of the belt and consists of a pair of branches which diverge from its apex at the skate bar in the direction of movement. Each plow branch in turn is composed of a plurality ofjuxtaposed plow shoes 88 which can be made from a rod 1% inches in diameter. The shoes may be about 1 inch long and each is cut from a rod in such a way as to round-out and thus minimize sharp edges which come in contact with the darn.

The frontal shoe 90 is formed so that the forward portion thereof extends parallel and adjacent to the skate bar 70 and its bottom edge is rounded, as at 92, so that it glides smoothly over the clams. Although six plow shoes are illustrated, any number will do as long as the distance between the branches on the base of an imaginary triangle is sufficiently wide to move the clam muscles to the side of the clam prior to the pressure evisceration stage. It has been determined that a distance of about 9 inches between the ends of the branches is satisfactory.

As would be apparent, a unitary rod can comprise a plow branch. Since the clam is of uneven shape with rising and falling contours, it is advantageous to use a plow made up of a plurality of shoes or segments which ride over the clam body. However, the muscles are of different texture than the remaining portion of the clam and the 2 muscles have the shape and texture of protrusions. These protrusions or muscles are pushed aside by the plow since the plow shoes do not ride thereover as with the remaining portion of the clam. In other words the muscles, in the form of protrusions, slide along the frontal surfaces of the plow branches and are pushed aside. When distended, weak tissue connects the muscle to the remaining portion of the clam. Occasionally, depending on alignment, size of the clam and width between the ends of the plow branches, the muscles are pulled off from the remaining portion of the clam.

Each plow shoe 88 and 90 is suspended over the belt by means of plow rod 94. Each plow rod 94 is rigidly affixed to the top of each plow shoe at one end of the rod whereas the other end is disposed through brace plate 66 to permit movement in a vertical plane, as is evident from FIGS. 3, 5, 8 and 10. Meansare provided for guiding and maintaining plow rods in position which includes a horizontally disposed triangular plate 96 secured to cross brace 82 with its apex extending away from cross brace 82, as shown in FIG. 9. A plurality of rods 98, see FIG. 10, are rigidly affixed to the triangular plate 96 along the diverging periphery of plate 96 and extend above and below the plate. Links 100, 106 engage bars 98 at one end and plow bars 94 at the opposite end. FIG. 1 1 illustrates link 100 with a pair of openings 102, 104 which allow free mounting of rods 94, 98. As to link 106, one end thereof has an opening 108 and the other end a U-shaped opening 110. Link 106 is welded to plow rod 94 about opening 108 while the opposite end is freely mounted on bar 98 by means of U- shaped opening 110. Configuration of opening 110 facilitates assembly and reduces friction between link 106 and bar 98 and furthermore, link 106 is a tiller bar whose sole purpose is to rotationally stabilize the plow ends so that the V-shape of the cluster of the plow shoes is maintained. As the plow is raised, spacer or link cants at an angle with the result that link 106 moves slightly to the left, as viewed in FIG. 10, and hence, elongated opening permits its movement. Link 106 remains level at all vertical positions of the plow and moves freely up and down on bar 98. Loosely mounted ends of the links are maintained in position by pins 112 and 114. A downward force is applied to each plow shoe by means of a coil spring 118 enveloped around plow rod 94 which is maintained between bushings 120 and 122. The applied force may vary a great deal, but it is preferred to induce from pound to 2 pounds on each shoe.

Although an ordinary rectangular bar can serve as well as a triangular plate, a glance at FIG. 9 will evince the advantage of using a triangular plate having an apex angle corresponding to that of the plow. The advantages being that with the triangular plate, links of one size can be used whereas otherwise, the links would have to be of different lengths, depending on their position. The use of a triangular plate permits interchangeability of links which is a significant advantage.

Once the clam muscles have been distended to the sides, evisceration of the clam takes place in the terminal portion of the apparatus, illustrated in FIGS. 3, 13 and 14.

Flexible pad 124 is secured to vertical member 62 by means of angle iron 126. Pad 124 is made of smooth surfaced material to allow clams to slide thereunder as they are carried by the conveyor belt. Examples of suitable materials are polyurethane and rubber. Width dimension of the pad should be such that at the contact point with a clam within the eviscerating section, the width of the pad is sufficient to contact the entire clam body but is less than the distance between the opposed distended muscles so that the muscles avoid the eviscerating pressure. A pad a foot in length and A foot in width is generally adequate. The pad overlies the terminal portion of skate bar 70 and extends over the belt at the point where the belt courses its way around the end pulley. Two rows of yieldable pressure elements 128, overlie the end portion of the flexible pad 124 to impart sufficient force on the clam body to squeeze out the liver. The region between the belt and the flexible pad under the yieldable pressure elements is the eviscerating section where, as is suggested by the terminology, the viscera of a clam are removed by application of force to the clam body between its muscles.

Being disposed over the beveled edge 74 of skate bar 70, flexible pad 124 is brought into contact with the belt at an acute angle. The converging aspect of the flexible pad and the belt in the region over the end pulley forms a pocket with its acute apex angle into which the clam is directed by movement on the conveyor. Due to the uniform convergence of the pad and the belt, the clam will be nipped therebetween and drawn between the pad and the belt.

FIGS. 3 and 13 illustrate the yieldable pressure elements on the flexible pressure pad as being springmounted by virtue of having a coil spring 132 wrapped around rod 134 between pairs of integrally affixed bushings 136. Each pressure element has shoe 138 at one end, as in the plow, which transmit pressure applied by the springs to the pad 124. Rods 134 are secured to the frame of the appararatus in any suitable fashion as by means of plate 139.

The end of flexible pad 124 is slit longitudinally to form flexible fingers 140. Each shoe 138 in the first row is disposed on a separate flexible finger 140 in order to operate individually and independently on a portion of the clam body. The shoes 138 or rods 134 connected thereto can be affixed to each finger 140 by fitting a portion thereof into the fingers 140 such as by drilling a small depression in the pad. Provision of flexible fingers in conjunction with the pressure elements is a unique feature of the apparatus since it facilitates severing of viscera from the abdominal sac through the medium of independent pressure points. Each pressure element should exert a force of about to 15 pounds and preferably, 7 to 10 pounds.

The function of the first set of yieldable pressure elements 130, which a moving clam encounters, is to bear down heavily on the clam so that it is mechanically keyed into the rough textured surface of the belt to prevent it from sliding horizontally thereon.

The second set of the yieldable pressure elements 128 is disposed so that the elements contact flexible fingers 140 of the flexible pad 124 at a point within about iii inch from the extreme rear end of the pad. It is this latter set of pressure elements 128 which performs the evisceration function.

Depending on the texture of the belt, flexible pad 124 preferably is in direct contact with the belt in the eviscerating section, but it can be spaced about /s inch above the belt. The rougher and dryer the voids in the belt, the closer should pad 124 be disposed to the belt. The force on push rods 134 is so great that the liver is almost completely mashed or rubbed into the voids of the textured belt. As much as about 90 percent of the liver is actually below the crests of the hubs of the belt as it leaves the eviscerating section. Means, in the form of a screw-limiting arrangement, can be provided on push rods 134 for preventing the push rods from pressing flexible fingers 140 below a certain point. Without such means, the force on the push rods might cause the flexible fingers to actually distort the textured surface of the belt to an undesirable degree. In actual operation, the limiting devices are adjusted so that the flexible fingers distort the hubs of the textured belt only slightly.

F 16. is a culmination of the description presented above in that it sequentially illustrates evisceration of a clam from the initial step of positioning the clam on a belt, in a manner so that its root points away from the direction of travel, to the final step where the clam is shown in the eviscerating section subjected to the force of the pressure elements 128, 130. More specifically, FIG. 15 depicts movement of a clam disposed on the belt in sequential steps wherein (A) the clam is positioned centrally on the belt with its root facing away from the V-shaped plow; (B) the clam is pinned to the belt by the skate bar; (C) the clam is engaged by the plow; (D) the clam muscles are distended by the plow to the sides of the belt; (E) the viscera of the clam is squeezed out by the pressure applied to the central portion of the clam body. In order to assist the operator in placing the clam root in alignment with the sakte bar, the belt has a painted pair of longitudinal lines thereon.

As can be seen from FIG. 15, the muscles are placed on the belt along the indicating lines.

As the eviscerated clam issues forth from the eviscerating section, it drops onto conveyor belt 142, see FIG. 3, which carries it into a tank filled with water or other cleaning liquid where the clam is washed. Since some of the liver will cling to belt 30 by virture of the force applied by pressure elements 128, 130, a resilient scraper or rotating brush 144 is positioned below continuous belt 30 to scrape ofi' adhering clam particles. These clam particles, likewise, drop onto conveyor belt 142 and are carried to the wash tank. Rotor 146 provided with pins 148 is also positioned below the belt ahead of brush 144. Pins 148 extend to Within A; inch of the belt and remove an occasional piece of clam meat which was not discharged previously.

Mounted on horizontal frame member 68 is motor 150 which drives pulley 44 by means of belt 152 and also rotor 146 by means of belt 154 entrained about driven shaft 40. Belt 155 is wound around rotor 146 and shaft 143 and drives brush 144.

Another embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 16 wherein the eviscerating section is formed in the region of the rear pulley 44 by belt 30 winding around pulley 44 and another endless belt 156 which is entrained over a drum 158 positioned above belt 30, drum 160 positioned below the belt and drum 162, which is displaced beyond the belt. Endless belt is preferably very thin and supple. Yieldably mounted roller 164 is disposed adjacent endless belt 156 to apply pressure to the clam disposed between belts 30 and 156 on rear pulley 44. Top surface of the endless belt 156 must be of such character as to permit the clam to slide thereagainst.

In still another embodiment, which is not shown in the drawings, a series of skates, plows and eviscerating pressure pads can be placed over a single, wide converyor belt. Preferably, in such a case, the belt carries longitudinal lines for aligning the clam with each series of the downstream apparatus used in pushing the muscles aside and in squeezing the liver out of the clam.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for removing viscera or any part thereof from a clam comprising a moving surface having a rough texture;

means for displacing clam muscles to the sides of said moving surface; and

an eviscerating section which includes yieldable means for applying force to the clam body between its muscles for squeezing out the viscera.

2. Apparatus of claim 1 including means for pinning the clam to said moving surface disposed above said moving surface which maintains the clam pinned while said muscle displacing means operates on the clam.

3. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said displacing means includes a plurality of juxtaposed yieldably mounted shoe elements on both sides of said pinning means arranged in a line diverging in the direction of travel, the distance at the terminal end of said shoe elements is such that the clam muscles are fully displaced outwardly to the side of said moving surface; and means for individually applying yieldable pressure to each of said shoe elements.

4. Apparatus of claim 3 wherein said eviscerating section includes a flexible means part of which is disposed over the terminal portion of said pinning means and part of which is disposed over said moving surface, the inner surface of said flexible means is made of smooth surfaced material to permit the clam to slide thereagainst, said yieldable means impart force through said flexible means against the clam body as the clam is carried between said flexible means and said moving surface in order to expel the viscera.

5. Apparatus of claim 4 including a front and rear pulleys around which said moving surface is draped, means for imparting motive force to one of said pulleys, said eviscerating section includes a plurality of pressure elements for applying differential pressure to the clam body in order to expel the viscera, and said flexible means being of a lesser width than the distance between the distended clam muscles and forming an acute angle with said moving surface in said eviscerating section to facilitate drawing the clam therebetween as said moving surface begins to wind around said rear pulley.

6. Apparatus of claim 5 wherein said displacing means includes means for positioning said shoe elements so that they are arranged in substantially juxtaposed fashion and the upper edge of said pinning means at its rear and slopes downwardly so that said flexible means overlying the sloping edge descends uniformly in contiguous relation with said moving surface to form an acute angle therewith and thus facilitate drawing the clam into said eviscerating section.

7. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said pinning means is an elongated skate bar suspended over said moving surface, the gap between said skate bar and said moving surface, being such as to place the clam under sufficient pressure to prevent it from sliding on said moving surface; said displacing means is a V-shaped plow diverging from the apex at said skate bar in the direction of travel suspended over said moving surface and being positioned intermediate the ends of said skate bar; said plow including substantially juxtaposed shoe elements which glide over the clam; rods affixed to said shoe elements; yieldable pressure means in association with said rods for applying yieldable pressure to said shoe elements; a confining element having a smooth inner surface cooperating with said moving surface to form an eviscerating section; and means for applying yieldable pressure to said confining element to expel the viscera of the clam disposed in said eviscerating section.

8. Apparatus of claim 7 including a front and rear drums in spaced relationship to each other over which said moving surface is entrained; means for applying motive force to one of said drums; said confinging element being a pad of a width less than the distance between the displaced muscles on said moving surface having a smooth inner surface. to allow the clam to slide thereagainst, said pad being disposed over the terminal portion of said skate bar and said moving surface in the region of said rear drum.

9. Apparatus of claim 8 wherein said pad is in contiguous relationship to said moving surface.

10. Apparatus of claim 9 wherein said pad is spaced above said moving surface about Vs inch, spacing between said moving surface and skate bar is from Vs inch to A inch and said plow just grazes said moving surface.

11. Apparatus of claim 7 wherein said confining element is an endless belt disposed partially over said moving surface in the region of said rear drum, said apparatus further including a first auxiliary drum positioned above said moving surface, a second auxiliary drum positioned below said moving surface and a third auxiliary drum positioned beyond said apparatus, said endless belt being entrained about said auxiliary drums.

12. Apparatus of claim 10 wherein said endless belt is in contact with said moving surface over a portion of said rear drum.

13. Apparatus of claim 11 wherein said endless belt is spaced above said moving surface above one eighth PQ-wso 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TIFICATE OF CORRECTION? Patent No. 3,789,457 Dated, February 5' 1 IT1ventor(s) Harold F. Snow It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Title shofild read '--'-Apparatus for Eviscerating clams-- Column l, line 1, deletev "Method and" I column 3-, line 29, delete "rod" and i n's e rt thereat --row Column "7 line 3, delete "appararatus" and insert thereat --apparatus-.

Signed and sealed this 7th day of January 1975.

(SEAL) A Attest:

MCCOY MANY-GIBSON JR. c. MAR-SHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. Apparatus fOr removing viscera or any part thereof from a clam comprising a moving surface having a rough texture; means for displacing clam muscles to the sides of said moving surface; and an eviscerating section which includes yieldable means for applying force to the clam body between its muscles for squeezing out the viscera.
 2. Apparatus of claim 1 including means for pinning the clam to said moving surface disposed above said moving surface which maintains the clam pinned while said muscle displacing means operates on the clam.
 3. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said displacing means includes a plurality of juxtaposed yieldably mounted shoe elements on both sides of said pinning means arranged in a line diverging in the direction of travel, the distance at the terminal end of said shoe elements is such that the clam muscles are fully displaced outwardly to the side of said moving surface; and means for individually applying yieldable pressure to each of said shoe elements.
 4. Apparatus of claim 3 wherein said eviscerating section includes a flexible means part of which is disposed over the terminal portion of said pinning means and part of which is disposed over said moving surface, the inner surface of said flexible means is made of smooth surfaced material to permit the clam to slide thereagainst, said yieldable means impart force through said flexible means against the clam body as the clam is carried between said flexible means and said moving surface in order to expel the viscera.
 5. Apparatus of claim 4 including a front and rear pulleys around which said moving surface is draped, means for imparting motive force to one of said pulleys, said eviscerating section includes a plurality of pressure elements for applying differential pressure to the clam body in order to expel the viscera, and said flexible means being of a lesser width than the distance between the distended clam muscles and forming an acute angle with said moving surface in said eviscerating section to facilitate drawing the clam therebetween as said moving surface begins to wind around said rear pulley.
 6. Apparatus of claim 5 wherein said displacing means includes means for positioning said shoe elements so that they are arranged in substantially juxtaposed fashion and the upper edge of said pinning means at its rear and slopes downwardly so that said flexible means overlying the sloping edge descends uniformly in contiguous relation with said moving surface to form an acute angle therewith and thus facilitate drawing the clam into said eviscerating section.
 7. Apparatus of claim 2 wherein said pinning means is an elongated skate bar suspended over said moving surface, the gap between said skate bar and said moving surface, being such as to place the clam under sufficient pressure to prevent it from sliding on said moving surface; said displacing means is a V-shaped plow diverging from the apex at said skate bar in the direction of travel suspended over said moving surface and being positioned intermediate the ends of said skate bar; said plow including substantially juxtaposed shoe elements which glide over the clam; rods affixed to said shoe elements; yieldable pressure means in association with said rods for applying yieldable pressure to said shoe elements; a confining element having a smooth inner surface cooperating with said moving surface to form an eviscerating section; and means for applying yieldable pressure to said confining element to expel the viscera of the clam disposed in said eviscerating section.
 8. Apparatus of claim 7 including a front and rear drums in spaced relationship to each other over which said moving surface is entrained; means for applying motive force to one of said drums; said confinging element being a pad of a width less than the distance between the displaced muscles on said moving surface having a smooth inner surface. to allow the clam to slide thereagainst, said pad being disposed over the terminal portion of said skate bar and said mOving surface in the region of said rear drum.
 9. Apparatus of claim 8 wherein said pad is in contiguous relationship to said moving surface.
 10. Apparatus of claim 9 wherein said pad is spaced above said moving surface about 1/8 inch, spacing between said moving surface and skate bar is from 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch and said plow just grazes said moving surface.
 11. Apparatus of claim 7 wherein said confining element is an endless belt disposed partially over said moving surface in the region of said rear drum, said apparatus further including a first auxiliary drum positioned above said moving surface, a second auxiliary drum positioned below said moving surface and a third auxiliary drum positioned beyond said apparatus, said endless belt being entrained about said auxiliary drums.
 12. Apparatus of claim 10 wherein said endless belt is in contact with said moving surface over a portion of said rear drum.
 13. Apparatus of claim 11 wherein said endless belt is spaced above said moving surface above one-eighth of an inch. 